Giants no match for battered Dodgers

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 23: Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants in the second inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on August 23, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. ... more

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 23: Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants in the second inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on August 23, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) less

Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Getty Images

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LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 14: Angel Pagan #16 of the San Francisco Giants is greeted by Brandon Crawford #35 after scoring a run in the fifth inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium ... more

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 14: Angel Pagan #16 of the San Francisco Giants is greeted by Brandon Crawford #35 after scoring a run in the fifth inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on August 23, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) less

Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Getty Images

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Rob Segedin celebrates after scoring on a solo home run, as San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey kneels at the plate during the second inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 23, ... more

Los Angeles Dodgers' Rob Segedin celebrates after scoring on a solo home run, as San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey kneels at the plate during the second inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) less

Photo: Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — As fans filed into Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night, they noticed a game being replayed on televisions along the concourse. Clayton Kershaw was on the mound, back in June, beating the Giants with an eight-inning masterpiece at AT&T Park.

It marked the essence of wishful thinking, with the Dodgers’ pitching rotation in tatters, and this was before two more L.A. pitchers were added to the disabled list.

The way this National League West saga is playing out, though, you wonder whether the Dodgers just might survive the whole mess.

Kenta Maeda, the one L.A. starter who has managed to stay on the roster all season, took the mound against Madison Bumgarner and made the better, more well-timed pitches when it mattered most. Both were long gone by the finish, but Maeda’s work set the tone for the Dodgers’ 9-5 win, giving them a two-game lead in the division race.

This was one of those terrific baseball matchups, so rich in contrast as to be lifted from fiction. Maeda hails from Japan, where he starred for the Hiroshima Carp and became something of a national legend. Bumgarner is a down-home country rancher from North Carolina, at peace among horses, woods and creeks.

Maeda is 6 feet tall and about 155 pounds, with a countenance suggesting quiet, studious moments. Bumgarner likes to chop down trees, round up livestock and barrel down dirt roads in his truck. In an MLB.com scouting report last year, Michael Clair described Maeda as “like a hypnotist at a work retreat, and the baseball is the gullible volunteer.” Kevin Bumgarner once said of his son, “There was a fire burning in that boy. All you had to do was throw a little coal on. And he’d steal a steak off the devil’s plate.”

This is Giants-Dodgers 2016, and while it doesn’t always remind you of Mays, McCovey and Marichal against Koufax, Drysdale and Wills, it has a beauty all its own. The baffling part, and certainly an annoyance to the Giants, is that Bumgarner can’t seem to beat this team.

This was the fifth straight time the Dodgers have won a Bumgarner start, and it was christened by a ton of respect from manager Dave Roberts. Removing a fair chunk of left-handed hitting from his lineup, Roberts went without center fielder Joc Pederson and second baseman Chase Utley, while right fielder Josh Reddick sat out with a hand injury.

It proved to be quite the balancing act. Rookie Rob Segedin, subbing for Reddick, hit a bases-empty, second-inning homer that was long gone from the instant of impact. From the left side, Adrian Gonzalez singled and hit a third-inning sacrifice fly that gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. And shortstop Corey Seager, who might soon end the talk about Brandon Crawford or anyone else as the National League’s best all-around shortstop, followed a ringing double to right-center with a deftly stroked single to left, scoring runs during each rally.

Bumgarner just wasn’t right, leaving with a 5-3 deficit after five innings, and as he made his slow, deliberate walk back to the dugout after each inning, you knew he was seething. Some will suggest he’s showing signs of fatigue, and considering the fact that he leads the major leagues in innings pitched (1802/3) — with a workhorse-style career well in progress — it’s a valid notion.

It’s also a bit risky to cast doubt upon Bumgarner, who takes pride in his old-school durability. He was calm and thoroughly unruffled after game, preferring to use “random” to describe the Dodgers’ run of success and saying his outing “wasn’t too terribly bad.” Let’s see how September unfolds before drawing dire conclusions. And you can almost hear the laughter in the Dodgers’ front office as such a what-if theory gets debated.

More by Bruce Jenkins

Fatigue? The Dodgers would welcome that sort of malady. With Scott Kazmir (neck) and Brett Anderson (blister) going on the disabled list Tuesday, six counted-upon starters are now sidelined, including Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Brandon McCarthy and Alex Wood. The Dodgers have taken plenty of heat for their reliance upon oft-injured starters, and they appear to be paying a formidable price. Rich Hill, scheduled to pitch Wednesday night, has made only one start — lasting five pitches — since July 7 due to a lingering blister. But will it matter, with the team responding so well in full survival mode?

Giants fans will be panicking all over the Bay Area, as is their custom, but manager Bruce Bochy takes the long view. “We’re still right there,” he said. “But we need to start rollin’ here, get back to who we are.”

It appears the Dodgers have found their identity, quite by accident. They stumbled upon it under duress. Until further notice, it’s working splendidly.

Bruce Jenkins has written for the San Francisco Chronicle since 1973 and has been a sports columnist since 1989. He has covered 27 World Series, 19 Wimbledons and many other major events, including the Super Bowl, World Cup soccer, NBA Finals, four major golf tournaments and U.S. Open tennis championships.

He graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1966 and UC Berkeley with a B.A. in journalistic studies in 1971.